Black powder bonus

Shooting Industry, July, 1995 by Sam Falada

Never before has the black powder shooter had such a range of guns and gear to choose from. Not even back in "the good old days" of muzzleloading could a marksman find this kind of variety.

Replicas of guns remain in force, especially with a series of fine rifled muskets and many good handguns. The black powder shotgun is well-represented, with choked models that shoot good dense patterns. In-line rifles are as common as sand at the beach. In-line pistols are catching on, too. The non-replica rifle continues to rule the day, but it has plenty of company from the modern muzzleloader.

The Spark 'n' Smoke Game has never played a stronger hand. No one can account for the American purchasing psyche; however, black powder shooting is hot today partly because everyone is served. There are guns and gear for all tastes. There are also numerous black-powder-only hunting seasons that put an outdoorsman into the field at favorable times of the year, and in special places. It's a great time to be selling black powder products.

ARMSPORT Inc.

Armsport's Italian-made replica Sharps rifles are now offered in different models, including the No. 5179 Sharps Carbine with 22-inch round barrel, No. 5178 Sharps Rifle with 28-inch round barrel and the No. 5180S Sharps with 28-inch octagonal barrel and double-set triggers. All three are chambered for the .45-70 Government cartridge only, the most popular round used today in black powder rifle silhouette shooting.

The No. 5182 Sharps 28-inch round barrel with single trigger is a breechloader in .54 caliber. Shooters will want to try paper cartridges in the 5128, as well as No. 5181, a .54-caliber rifle with 22-inch round barrel, plus the .45 caliber No. 5183 with 28-inch round barrel.

Ballistic Products Inc.

Steel shot from Ballistic Products is bagged and ready to go. It's ideal for the black powder shotgun that can handle steel, such as the new Navy Arms steel-shooting, double-barrel 12-gauge black powder shotgun. Remind your customers to load steel shot by count - count the pellets in the load, rather than going by volume. Ballistic Products also has wool felt wads in 1/4-inch and 1/8-inch thicknesses, cork wads, many card wads, overshot wads and other components.

Barnes Bullets

Barnes, known for decades as a premium bullet comply, has entered the muzzleloading field with a unique Expander-MZ Muzzleloader Bullet. It's made of solid copper, with a promise of expansion down to only 1,000 fps striking velocity. In .45 caliber, .451-inch diameter, the bullet weights are 250 and 300 grains. More calibers are coming soon. Also, Barnes has a new tool to help align a bullet with the bore for better accuracy. This bullet aligner screws into the tip of a ramrod or loading rod.

Big Bore Express

Belt Bullets are now available in calibers .50 and .54 with bullet weights of 295, 348, 405, 444 and 520 grains, all swaged pure lead. The Black Belt Bullet blends two factors: slightly under bore size diameter for easy loading, plus a black plastic base cup to hold the missile where it belongs, down on the powder charge, rather than creeping upbore as the rifle is carried in the field. The belt is a gas check, helping to seal gases behind the bullet. New from Big Bore Express this year is a special shooting bag that fits the belt. It holds all manner of accouterments.

Birchwood Casey

Choke Tube Lube is for black powder shotguns that have interchangeable chokes - useful in keeping black powder fouling soft. Birchwood Casey No. 77 Black Powder Solvent is a clean-up fluid for after-shooting. Kit builders and custom gunmakers have Birchwood Casey Plum Brown Barrel Finish for that original look. New from Birchwood are Action Targets with flip-disks and Precision Sight-In Targets, with self-sticking aim points that can be applied to standard targets.

Blount/Outers

Blount offers the Black Powder Cleaning Kit with solvent, patches, caplock flush bottle, patches, .50- and .54-caliber bore brushes, and ramrod adapter for brushes. Also a special black powder cleaning kit, muzzleloader cleaning rods, ball puller, and a number of wool mops, brushes, and patches. The Caplock Cleaning System uses Outers black powder solvent.

Buffalo Bullet Co.

New from Buffalo Bullet is the Ball-et. It's a half-round, half-conical bullet that shoots well in certain rifles that have middle-of-the-road twist. The short shank provides low sectional density, that is ideal for slower-twist muzzleloaders. In addition, the shank offers a good engraving surface for the rifling. The Ball-et, available only in .50 caliber, weighs 245 grains.

Conicals of varying specs are also available in calibers .45 through .58, including many hollow-points, as well as hollow-bases. Buffalo Bullet swaged round balls go from .310-inch diameter to .570-inch. Also available are conical pistol bullets for .36, .44 and .45 caliber black powder handguns.

Butler Creek Corp.

No petroleum is the byword for Butler Creek's Nature's Blend bore cleaner. Butler Creek also has Bore Sweetener, plus patch and bullet lube all in one kit. Bullet & Patch Lube, also a Nature's Blend product, promises increased accuracy, reduced bore fouling, and protection against rust. Also new is a Lead Bullet Lube. Of these fine new products, the Bore Sweetener is particularly interesting in concept, protecting the bore for the next time out. Butler Creek calls Nature's Blend a rebirth of Sharps' bullet and patch lube, a trusted product of the 1800s.